


Nearly Home Alone

by petersnotkingyet



Category: Castle
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Asthmatic Ryan, Castle is a friend, Christmas, Espo and Ryan are dating, Esposito and Beckett are step siblings, Family of Choice, Fluff, Holidays, Implied Caskett, M/M, Mentions of asthma, Power Outage, Protective Esposito, Ryan's bigass family, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-08 14:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5500490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petersnotkingyet/pseuds/petersnotkingyet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The power's been out for two days, and Ryan is home alone without a way to get in touch with anyone.  Good thing he's got Javi to come check up on him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nearly Home Alone

"Who was that?" Kate asked when Javier hung up the phone and immediately began chewing his bottom lip.

"Mrs. Ryan," Javier said.  "She hasn't been able to get ahold of Kevin, so she wanted to see if we could go by and check on him."

"He's home alone?" Castle asked.  "This close to Christmas?"

Javier nodded.  "It was just supposed to be for a day, but his family got snowed in at his aunt's," he said.  "They talked to Kevin the day before yesterday, but he hasn't answered his phone since then.  The neighbors are out of town, so they can't check on him."

"That's weird," Kate said.  "Didn't you say you hadn't talked to him since then either?"

The sixteen year old made an affirmative noise, only a little sheepish.  He'd figured Kevin was just wrapped up in Christmas with a big family, and that's why he wasn't texting. The blond boy was supposed to join them for their Christmas get-together with Castle, but he hadn't shown up.  It wasn't like Kevin to drop contact like that, and it was even more uncharacteristic of him to not explain an absence.  "Mrs. Ryan was starting to freak out, but his sister remembered that we were still in town," Javier said.

"Sister?" Castle said.  "I thought he only had brothers."

Kate shook her head.  Castle was the newest addition to their little group of friends, and he was yet to see the Ryan family in full force.  "He's got two older sisters and three older brothers," she said.  "Kevin's the youngest of six."

Castle let out an impressed whistle.  "And he got left home alone on Christmas.  This is just like the movie.  His name is even Kevin."

"No, it's not," Kate said, rolling her eyes.  "They didn't forget him; they just got snowed in.  And it's three more days until Christmas.  He's just not answering his phone."

"Are you guys coming or what?" Javier said.  He'd already put on his coat and shoes, and he leaned against the door impatiently while Kate and Castle got theirs.  He was still trying to pull off a calm facade, but Kate saw right through it.  She rushed to get ready and hurried Castle along when he lagged.

It wasn't far from Kate and Javier's house to Kevin's, but the snow meant they had to go slower.  It took twice as long as usual, and Javier was so eager to check on Kevin that he didn't even bother telling Castle not to snoop.  The seventeen year old took that as an invitation to try to see as much of the Ryan house as he could without Javier noticing.  There was a Christmas tree in front of a window, a string of lights above the porch, and a wreath on the front door.  To Castle's disappointment, it looked like the house of any family at Christmastime.

The first thing Javier noticed about the familiar house was that the doorbell wasn't lit up.  The house was quiet and dark, and there were no cars in the driveway.  He tried the doorbell and couldn't hear anything, so he pounded on the door.  They only had to wait a few moments before Kevin Ryan opened the door.

"Hey, guys," he greeted cheerfully, grinning and gesturing them inside.  The blond teen had layered on jackets, and he was wearing a toboggan.  It was only marginally warmer inside than outside.

"Is the power out?" Javier asked dubiously.  Kevin nodded sheepishly.

"I was getting some last minute Christmas preparations done while Mom and the girls went to Aunt Kella and Dad and my brothers went to Uncle Mike's," Kevin explained.  "It was only supposed to be for the day, but they got snowed in.  The power went out and my phone died while I was asleep, so I couldn't call anyone."

"Nighttime power outage!" Castle declared.  "Just like Home Alone!"

Javier looked at the older boy threateningly, and Castle closed his mouth.  "Go turn up the heat in my car and call your mom," Javier said, handing his phone to Kevin and keys to Kate.  "She's worried sick about you.  Your sisters are ready to sled across the state."

Kevin laughed and pecked his boyfriend on the cheek.  "Thanks, Javi," he said.  "For the phone and the rescue."

"You're freezing," Javier huffed.  It was a manly version of, _I was worried about you.  I love you._ "I'll get a bag together for you.  You can stay with us until your parents get home and you guys have power again."

"I'll help," Castle volunteered, a little too eager to go through Ryan's drawers.

"Wait, wait, I have to get the presents!" Kevin said.  "I was worried I was going to miss our Christmas party, but now it'll be like nothing even happened."

"I'll get them," Javier said.  "Just go get warm, man."

"No peeking," Ryan said insistently, but he let Kate lead him out to the car.

Once Kevin and Kate were out the door, Castle said, "So how come Kevin gets to call you Javi?  I thought you said it was Javier, Esposito, or nothing at all." 

"How come you stare at my sister's ass in gym?" Javier retaliated.

Castle sputtered out a flimsy, "She's your stepsister."  Esposito snorted.

"We've known each other since we were six," he said as he hunted down one of Kevin's backpacks.  "We're closer than most siblings.  And you didn't address the fact that you've got a thing for my sister, and you're trying to heckle me for what my boyfriend calls me."

"There is no 'thing,'" Castle denied.  Javier thought that might be enough to shut him up for a while, but Castle was talking again in a matter of seconds.  "So Kevin's got five older siblings, right?  That had to be one hell of a shovel talk."

"Yeah," Javier agreed.  "I thought my family was protective, but they've got nothing on the Ryans.  All of Kevin's brothers play football, and his dad is a cop.  Don't even get me started on the sisters."

"You won them over yet?" Castle asked, and Javier shrugged.  "You guys have been dating forever, right?  And they have to like you after this."

Javier slung the backpack over his shoulder without saying anything else.  On anyone else, the gesture would look rude, but Castle was beginning to understand that on Esposito it really meant 'emotionally stunted.'  They went out to the car, and Kevin and Kate were already situated.  Kevin had stripped out of some of his layers, and they could see him holding one hand in front of the vent while he held Javier's cell phone with the other.  For most of the ride, Kevin was on the phone with his parents and siblings, trying to reassure them that he was fine.  Finally, he covered the microphone and said, "They want to talk to you."

"Hello?" Javier said, taking the phone.  Castle tried to hear, but he could barely hear what the sixteen year old was saying over the sound of the heater and the road.  "Yes, ma'am."  There was another pause.  "He can stay with us as long as he needs to."  Pause.  "Yes ma'am, I remember his brothers from football."  Pause.  "Yes ma'am."  Pause.  "Goodbye."

"Did Mrs. Ryan just threaten you with Kevin's brothers?" Castle asked curiously.  Esposito shook his head and dropped his phone into the cup holder.

"No," Javier said.  "I'm not sure exactly what it was, but it didn't seem like a threat."

"If she was threatening you, she would  have mentioned Stacy and Carlin," Kevin supplied, and Kate laughed.

The four teenagers arrived back at Javier and Kate's house with a few hours to spare before their parents got home.  "Can you call Mom and let her know Kevin's staying with us?" Javier said to Kate once they got inside.  "I'm going to get the air mattress set up and harass him into taking a hot shower."

"I'm fine," Kevin huffed.  "It was cold, yeah, but I'm warm now."

"You have asthma and you spent two days without heat," Javier maintained.  "Humor me."

Kevin made a face and said, "It was really just a day and a half, but fine."

Javier smiled.  "You know where the bathroom is.  Towels and wash clothes are underneath the sink."

Half an hour later found the four of them in the living room trying scrolling through Netflix.  Javier had Kevin pulled against his chest, and the two of them filled up most of the couch.  Kate had taken the recliner, which left Castle to find the most comfortable spot on the floor.  "How exactly did we decide on these seating arrangements?" he asked.

"Kevin's was a popsicle, so he gets a good seat," Kate said.  "Javier is still convinced he's going to freeze, so he's got to spoon him back to health."

"And Kate's Kate, so she gets the recliner," Kevin said while Esposito glowered at his stepsister.

"Fine," Castle relented.  "Is Home Alone on Netflix?"

Kate laughed, and Esposito swung a pillow at Castle's head.


End file.
